<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Glad You Came by LexisGrey, thelotusflower</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29378625">Glad You Came</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LexisGrey/pseuds/LexisGrey'>LexisGrey</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelotusflower/pseuds/thelotusflower'>thelotusflower</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>South Park</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, CATG friendship, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Stan Gang Friendship, rom com, ski trip</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:41:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,466</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29378625</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LexisGrey/pseuds/LexisGrey, https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelotusflower/pseuds/thelotusflower</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Craig agreed to take a ski trip with his friends, he expected a decent time. He didn’t expect that he would have to share a lodge with a group of assholes from his hometown and a familiar, cute blonde.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Craig Tucker/Tweek Tweak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>HELLO EVERYONE!</p><p>It’s been such a huge honor working with LexisGrey on this. She is so so talented, and we are so excited about it. We hope you all enjoy. :)</p><p>- TLF</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>They were five minutes on the road when Clyde said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“wait! I forgot my contact solution!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>and they had to turn around. It was unsurprising that Clyde forgot something. It was so unsurprising from the group that instead of blaming Clyde, they blamed Craig.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not his keeper!” Craig argued.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If y-y-you aren’t, then why does h-he have your name on his ass cheek?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“First of all, it’s his </span>
  <em>
    <span>initials,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Clyde interjected. “Second of all… actually that’s all I have.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He lost a dumb bet to Token, and I didn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>consent </span>
  </em>
  <span>to it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Token snorted from behind the driver’s wheel. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A-and what was the bet?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know damn well what it was,” Craig grumbled, crossing his hands over his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Token said I couldn’t go a day without texting Craig, but in my defense, it was a moment of weakness, and I forgot that I committed to it for the day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Craig huffed and rolled his eyes. “He’s also getting it removed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hell no I’m not! That shit would hurt. Havent I already suffered enough?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t it kind of g-gay to have your bro’s i-in-in-intials on your ass?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another snort came from Token, along with a sigh from Craig. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I tell chicks that it’s my dead grandmother’s initials, and I get a lot of sympathy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t both your grandmothers alive?” Token asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? They don’t know that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dude, y-you are f-f-fucked up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, they are a lot less likely to run into one of my alive grandmas than Craig! Otherwise, I’d just say he died!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Craig glared at his friend in the backseat. Clyde just gave him a sheepish smile and a wink. Craig shook his head and turned away. His irritation was already maxed out by this trip, and it had barely even started. He had no idea how he was going to make it through the next few days.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they left South Park, and out through the empty and open roads beyond their small town, Craig stared out the window. He watched the open farmland pass by them, covered in a sheet of snow and a couple of cows.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The car-ride was long and brutal. After what seemed like forever, just faced with open land, they reached the highway. Clyde was the first to ask Token to stop, needing to “let out a leak.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Craig begged Token to let him drive, just to get out of the backseat and away from Clyde’s constant poking. He kept asking his opinions of girls on Tinder, as if he wasn’t an extremely </span>
  <em>
    <span>gay </span>
  </em>
  <span>man. Every single girl Craig said seemed nice, Clyde swiped left on. Clearly, he did not value his opinion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Token allowed him to drive, taking the passenger seat and sending Jimmy to the backseat instead. According to the GPS, they had two hours to go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those two hours consisted of them fighting over who would be rooming with Jimmy. Clyde snored rather loudly, Token used some white noise machine to fall asleep and Craig occasionally talked in his sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jimmy asked them to perform in a joke-off which Craig immediately removed himself from, having no effort or desire to even try in the ridiculous competition. Jimmy ended up choosing Token as the winner, and Craig swore he only did because a white noise machine was better than the sound of snoring.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After one more bathroom break and a trip to McDonalds, they finally arrived at the lodge. His friends immediately piled out of the car, running to the door, ditching their belongings behind. Craig was not planning on a second trip outside though, so he gathered his bags before he headed inside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lodge was equipped with high ceilings and large windows; the snowy Rocky Mountain scenery in front of them. The large windows casted natural light on the living space and the open-floor plan kitchen. The wood panel walls were decorated with winter escapade paintings and photographs of the Rocky Mountains.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He and his friends were staying on the bottom level of the lodge, so he made his way past the open-floor kitchen and into the hallway. He checked out the two rooms before deciding on the slightly bigger one. If he was going to share a room with Clyde for four nights, he was going to need all the space he could get.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Like the living space and kitchen, the windows were wide and tall, surrounded by wood panels and decorative photographs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Craig dropped his bag by the wooden dresser and afterward, collapsed onto the quilted bed. He laid his head on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. He could go for a nap right now, but he knew that wasn’t an option as Clyde erupted through the doorway, dropping his belongings beside the entryway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is sick, dude!” Clyde exclaimed as he strode forward, collapsing on the bed beside Craig. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clyde laid beside him with his elbows hoisting him up, a dopey smile on his lips. “If I meet a girl, can —,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clyde frowned. “Come on, Dude! I would let you hook up with a guy here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Craig rolled his eyes. “We will talk when you actually meet a </span>
  <em>
    <span>girl </span>
  </em>
  <span>who doesn’t exist solely on Pornhub.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I get tons of women!” Clyde defended, scrunching up his face. “Maybe the other group who will be staying here will be a ladies group,” he smirked. “That would be awesome.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clyde turned and rested his head on the pillow, crossing his arms behind his neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Token said the owner told him it’s another group of guys.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He received a swat to the shoulder at this. “Well, there you go! Go get some!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I doubt any of them are gay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm, I guess we’ll just see about that, hmm?” Clyde took his previous position again, eyes on the ceiling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Craig scoffed at the likelihood. Not only would they have to be gay, but single and appealing. If Craig couldn’t find someone in the real world, he doubted it would happen in this lodge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Craig didn’t get to rest for long though, because a minute later Token banged on their door, telling them it was time to hit the slopes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Although Craig was excited to ski, he hoped one of the concession stands would sell some form of caffeine to boost his energy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the sixty-fourth time that day that Tweek regretted his decision. Two nights ago, he was high and stupid enough to let his best friend, Kenny, persuade him in to joining him and his friends for a long weekend skiing, far away from South Park. Spending the weekend trapped inside a suspicious looking house – potentially with strangers </span>
  <em>
    <span>and Cartman</span>
  </em>
  <span> – was the second worst thing that he could imagine. However, it still sounded better than working every day for free in his parents’ coffee shop during the winter break. So, there he was; stuck in the back of the Marsh family’s minivan – with probably the five most reckless and crazy people South Park could offer – inhaling the putrid air filled with farts, the smell of junk food and weed, which Kenny tried to hide from Kyle, with little-to-no success.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Kial —” Cartman began, intentionally pushing his knee into the back of the passenger seat, where Kyle sat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My name is not Kial,” The redhead grumbled angrily, placing the book he was trying to read on his lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kewl —” the fat man mocked, his uncomfortable smooth lips twisted into a devilish grin and both his blue and brown eyes shimmered with pleasure. Tweek always found it strange just how much Cartman’s blue eye resembled Kenny’s. Sometimes he could swear they looked absolutely identical.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goddammit Cartman, it’s Kyle!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The driver had enough of his two loud friends and annoyedly sped the car up. “He’s clearly trying to get on your nerves, dude,” Stan sighed, desperately longing for those cold beers which rested in the back of the car. Being trapped with his friends in a rolling metal box for over three hours and staying sober were more than his melancholic soul could take.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tweek let out a tired sigh, wishing he still had some coffee left to take his attention away from the noisy duo’s cat and mouse play. He glanced at Butters who was innocently sleeping next to Cartman, then his eyes shifted over the third blond man, who eagerly watched the scene unfold at the front of the van.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How can you take this every day?” Tweek sighed, leaning against the cold window while he tried to shut the noises out from the front. He couldn’t wait to finally get out of this death trap and breath in some fresh air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Light laughter bubbled up from Kenny as his soft eyes landed on him. “Easy,” a sly smile spread on his freckled face as he leaned closer, whispering into Tweek’s ear. “Free entertainment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tweek shook his head in disbelief, but Kenny was still close and his nose bumped into his cheek. “Space,” he muttered, pushing Kenny’s face away jokingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s see how long wasted Tweek can keep his hands away from my godly body.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A low chuckle escaped Tweek’s pursed lips. “You are still not as sexy as you think,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe,” Kenny smirked, “but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re very touchy when you’re drunk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, shut the fuck up fags!” Cartman groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up Cartman!” the other four awake men in the van shouted with an absolutely unplanned synchronicity, and for a brief moment it was silent, before they burst into a fit of laughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Screw you guys!” Cartman whined, his voice rose in pitch before he angrily opened a new bag of crisps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Surprisingly, they spent the remaining half an hour of the drive in relative peace. Kyle’s green eyes glued to his book, while Cartman kept his mouth busy with food. Stan counted the minutes down until he could finally drink while Tweek silently gazed out the window. Glimmering fresh snow covered everything around them and the ancient pine trees stood threateningly on either side of the road. Eventually Kenny followed the Butter’s example and fell asleep, leaning against Tweek’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the rare occasions that they could actually act like normal humans, those were the moments when Tweek didn’t mind that much being friends with them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a car already parked here,” Cartman stated the obvious as they arrived at their destination. He leaned forward, poking his head between Kyle and Stan. His hands were sticky and slightly orange from the bag of cheesy puffs he devoured a few minutes ago. Some of his fingers – clearly on purpose – brushed over the redhead’s grey coat, leaving some greasy fingerprints on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's not that surprising, since we only booked half of the lodge,” Kyle said in a matter-of-fact tone, seemingly unaware of the fatty stain on his coat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if one of us wouldn’t be a greedy jew —”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Says the one whose mother pa —”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough guys!” Stan grumbled, and switched the engine off. “Let’s just head inside,” he jumped out of the car. The sudden cold air sent shivers down his spine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soon enough Cartman and Kyle joined him outside, still sending silent death threats towards each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope there will be some fine chicks and not a bunch of guys,” Butters muttered, looking back at Kenny before he opened the door on his side and jumped out from the vehicle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine with either,” Kenny replied with a sly smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh right, good for you, Kenny!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can I say, I’m always a winner,” Kenny snickered as he watched Butters pulling the seat forward, to help him and Tweek crawl out from the van too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time Tweek got outside, Kyle, Cartman and Butters had already rushed inside the house, only leaving a suspicious looking Kenny and Stan outside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt like heaven when Tweek could finally stretch his body and fill his lungs with the cold air. His eyes settled on the beautiful, pure patches of virgin snow, feeling guilty for ruining it with his footprints. The fresh snow crunched under his weight as he walked over the back of the car. Stan was already waiting for him, holding Tweek’s backpack in his hand. “Thanks,” he nodded and took his belongings from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The smallest smile appeared on Stan’s lips, but as soon as he opened his mouth to say something to Tweek, a quickly approaching object crashed into his pretty face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice, direct hit!” Kenny cheered, choking on his own laughter as he watched the neatly made snowball fall apart on his friend’s cheek and fall to the ground.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stan’s blue eyes darkened and Tweek could see his body tensing up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kenny —!” Stan rumbled as he squatted down and began to gather some snow around him to repay his friend. “We are at war now you, asshole!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the moment when Tweek decided to quickly flee from the scene and head towards the lodge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was surprisingly warm and nice inside. It had a welcoming aura and Tweek already knew he would miss this place when they were leaving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The two rooms on the ground floor are already occupied, but it looks like the other guests are out somewhere,” Kyle stated as he checked out the fireplace in the living area. “Possibly skiing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, the upstairs is ours,” Stan hummed as he shuffled inside and looked up. There was an open ceiling above the living area and they could clearly see the four closed doors upstairs. His beloved hat was missing from his head and fat drops of snowy water dripped from his dark hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenny was nowhere to be seen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They did bring some booze,” Butters said as he explored the kitchen. “Mostly beer though,” he sighed and closed the fridge’s door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Weak,” Cartman snorted from the couch, while he was busy checking something on his phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tweek was nearly scared to death when unexpectedly, someone blew into his ear behind. He turned around to face Kenny, who had soundlessly sneaked upon him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A triumphant smile cracked Kenny’s face as he proudly wore Stan’s hat on his head. It suited him surprisingly well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should check out the rooms,” Stan stated, balancing on one leg while he untied the shoelaces on his boot. “You too, Kenny, take off your shoes first,” he didn’t even need to glance up to know what his friend was thinking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aye-aye Captain.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all headed upstairs once Kenny was finished with dramatically taking his combat boots off, and dodging Stan’s attempt to get his beanie back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stan rolled his eyes and checked out the first room. “This one has a double bed,” he said from inside, before he poked his head out into the hallway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Butters rushed over the middle one and peaked inside. “It’s a twin room.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same here.” Came Kyle’s voice from the last room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going to share a bed with any of you fags,” Cartman grumbled once all six of them gathered outside the rooms. “or I may catch your gayness.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, fatass, like anyone would want to share with you!” Kyle snapped at him, with glaring green  eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cartman stepped closer to the redhead, his nostrils widened and dark excitement flickered in his mismatched eyes. However, before he even had a chance to say something back, Kenny stepped away from the wall and grabbed Tweek’s free arm with a mischievous smile. “I'm gonna share it with Tweek.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Brilliant, the two gaywards,” Cartman snorted, but eased up a bit. “If I hear any of your disgusting moans or other noises —”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will keep it quiet. Right, babe?” Kenny snickered, winking at Tweek, who looked back at him with a shocked and disapproving face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, god! Why am I even here?!” Cartman cried out theatrically and tossed his bag over to Butters, who quietly watched the usual scene with his pale blue  eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I want to know too,” Kyle cut in, shooting a daring look towards the chunky brunette.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!” Cartman looked back at him, ready to fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, can you please just shut the fuck up, and start unpacking?” Stan mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. He met Kyle in the eye, and the two had a quick, silent conversation, before the blues eyes settled on Cartman, who, after a dragging second, shrugged his shoulders and gave in to Stan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kyle picked up his best friend’s gym bag from the floor and walked over him. “Stans right. Let’s pack out and meet downstairs,” he glanced at the clock on the wall, “in fifteen minutes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blond trio nodded in agreement before they headed towards their rooms, Butters carrying his and Cartman’s belongings too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Make it thirty,” The fat brunette chimed in as he turned his back on the unbreakable duo. “I need to take a dump.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” Kyle grimaced in disgust. “Remind me not to use the same bathroom as him.” He turned to Stan, who just tiredly rolled his eyes and took his bag out from the other’s hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tweek’s eyes were wide with amazement as he looked around in the room. It was bigger than his own bedroom and so toasty and welcoming. But before he even had a chance to keep examining his surroundings in peace, Kenny hurriedly passed by him and landed on the bed they shared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit Tweek!” he muttered, nuzzling his face into one of the soft pillows. “This is the most comfortable bed I have ever been on.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even better than Kyle’s super fancy memory foam mattress?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Totally,” Kenny let out a muffled chuckle and twisted his head to the side when he felt the mattress sinking next to him. He found himself facing a happily smiling Tweek. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Kenny.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For what? Letting you share a bed with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Tweek shook his head lightly, while he fought back a smile. His blue eyes shimmered with tenderness. “For convincing me to join you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’m glad you came,” Kenny said and ran his fingers through the strands of Tweek’s slightly lighter blond hair. “Also, thanks to you I needed to pay less for this trip,” he snickered as Tweek brushed his hand off of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Asshole.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, we don’t have time for this!” came Kyle’s voice from behind as the redhead peeked inside the room. “Hurry up! We have to make dinner!” he added and moved on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenny sighed and sat up. “He just had to ruin the moment,” he said and winked at Tweek before he crawled off of the bed and began to unpack his old military style backpack. The smell of marijuana immediately spread throughout the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to do something about this smell,” Tweek commented, putting his shirts into the wooden wardrobe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will just keep the window slightly open.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like it ever worked,” Tweek rolled his eyes and glanced at Kenny, who looked back at him with a coy smile. “Also, do you think it’d be ok if I go and take a shower? I feel like I smell like Cartman’s fart,” he gave a grimace of disgust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenny burst into a fit of laughter as he watched the other’s adorable face twist. “Sure, babe, I will hold down the front, so Kyle won’t be able to barge in on you,” his smile widened in a wicked way as he continued. “Unless you want me to join you instead?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, thank you,” Tweek grabbed a clean tower from the edge of the bed and fished out the shower gel from his bag. “Just keep Kyle away from the bathroom. I will be quick.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not gonna say I’m not disappointed, but the night is still young,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Kenny!” Tweek chuckled and sneaked out from the room, trying his best not to be noticed by the redhead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bathroom was just as breathtaking as every other part of the lodge, even though there were clear signs of Cartman already using the room. Tweek opened the window for a moment to get some fresh air in while he dressed down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stepped inside the shower and the warm water felt like a blessing once it hit his tired body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As nightfall came and their stomachs grew hungry for something other than that of concession food, they decided to head back to the lodge. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Craig had spent the evening snow-tubing with Jimmy. Tomorrow, one of their other friends would accompany him instead, and Craig would take on the ski slopes. He and Jimmy did get a good laugh, however, at Clyde’s expense. It had been a few years since he took on the slopes, and the second he had his pair of skis on, he fell over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though it had been fun, Craig was eager to get back to the lodge. He was tired and hungry, therefore irritable. He just wanted to eat and sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wonder if the other group will want to hang out tonight,” Clyde said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Craig rolled his eyes. “I hope not. I’ve had too much human interaction for the day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You say that every day!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I mean it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hope immediately plummeted when he walked through the door. In the kitchen, a familiar group of faces stood; those faces belonging to a group known as “Stan’s gang,” or “the most obnoxious group of people in the world,” as Craig liked to call them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He watched as his friends lit up in sight of them, greeting them and falling into easy conversation. He stood behind, feeling a headache beginning to form.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He avoided this group of people as much as he could growing up — even though they made it extremely hard to do so —always pulling people into their ridiculous schemes. The worst of them was definitely Eric Cartman, a person who Craig could not understand how </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> could </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>be friends with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Kyle Broflovski offered them some dinner, he supposed it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>terrible. He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>starving, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and the idea of preparing his own meal right now sounded exhausting. Just as he was coming around to the idea of sharing a lodge with this group of people for the next four days, he heard a door click from upstairs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He darted his eyes up, curious to who else could be here, seeing as all of  the usual member’s of Stan’s gang were in the kitchen. He lifted his eyebrows at the sight of the new individual, only wrapped in a towel and his blonde hair wet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without thinking, his eyes trailed down the body of the blonde stranger; taking a glimpse of his muscular and lean body. He had the vaguest trace of abs, and a slight v shape that led to his groan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Craig flushed, realizing what he was doing. As he looked up again, the blonde’s eyes widened and he rushed away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Craig bowed his head down in shame, shaking his head. He did not normally, unashamedly check someone out like that, but this stranger seemed familiar. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and he wasn’t used to running into hot blondes, dripping wet and only wearing a towel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tweek turned off the water and stepped out from the shower. The air was steamy and the mirror above the sink was foggy.  A sheepish smile crossed his face as he stepped closer and pushed his index finger against it and wrote “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Cartman likes it balls-deep”</span>
  </em>
  <span> all over it. He looked at his job with pure pride in his eyes before he turned away from it and quickly towelled himself. However, soon he realized he made a mistake and forgot to bring clean clothes with himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He let out an annoyed moan; there was no way he would put his dirty stinky clothes back. He secured the towel around his waist and stepped outside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately unidentified voices hit his ears from downstairs. He looked down and saw four strangers mixing with his friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At first he didn’t recognize them, but as he watched the scene it became obvious that his friends knew them. The longer his eyes lingered on them, the more he felt a strange sense of familiarity coming from them, and eventually he recognised the dark skinned man. He saw him once when he was waiting for Kenny just outside of South Park High, but that meant that the other four men were from their hometown too.  After the realization it made so much more sense why Kyle was calmly chatting with the dark skinned man and while Kenny looked at the unknown brunette with a goofy smile on his lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyes shifted over them and settled on the fourth man, who stood a bit further away, keeping his distance from everyone. He was tall and gloomy looking, certainly unhappy about the unexpected encounter. Maybe it was fate, or maybe Tweek was too loud, but a second later the loner looked up and their eyes met. The way he looked at him, made Tweek’s heart skip a beat. The man’s eyes moved a little bit lower and Tweek was suddenly aware of how he was standing there only wearing a towel around his waist. He felt his cheeks warming up as he turned around and rushed inside the room. It was the worst possible way to introduce himself. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to look into the other man’s eyes again. </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello thanks so much for reading 💕💕 thanks specially to ambercreek95 for editing this for us! we deeply appreciate u my love 🥰</p><p>- LTF</p><p>Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Behind the closed door was safe. Outside? not so much.</p><p>The heat on Tweek’s cheeks didn’t want to disappear and it felt like his heart wasn’t planning to slow down either. The way the other man looked at him just a few moments ago was burned into his mind with the smoke of shame surrounding it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, counted to five before exhaling and repeating the process. Before he had enough time to calm down though, his phone buzzed.</p><p>It was a message from exactly who he feared would be; <em> Kenny </em>. </p><p>
  <em> ‘U have 2mins to come down. love your new style btw, dont change it!’ </em>
</p><p>Of course Kenny had to see him. When they were younger Tweek thought his best friend had invisible eyes everywhere, because he just happened to always see and know about everything. Tweek wasn’t a child anymore, so he didn’t believe in it anymore but still out of sheer habit, he looked around in the room. </p><p>He quickly put his clothes on, fearing Kyle’s wrath if he took any longer, but the moment his fingers locked around the door handle, his muscles stiffened and his legs became rooted into the floor. Maybe it would be worth risking Kyle’s anger. Stan could calm him down and Kenny would save him. </p><p>His phone buzzed again. This message was short and to the point. </p><p>
  <em> ‘Now’ </em>
</p><p>Tweek took one more deep breath before opening the door. </p><p>He felt like all eyes were on him as he walked down the stairs. He was still anxious in new social situations, even though he started university a few months ago. But spending pretty much his entire life closed inside his home or in his parents' coffee shop took a hit on his social skills. </p><p>“Dude, what took you so long?” Kyle questioned him the moment his feet touched the living area's floor, threateningly pointing the vegetable peeler towards him. Tweek was glad it wasn’t a knife like the last time.</p><p>“I - I just —” Tweek mumbled, darting his eyes between the redhead and his best friend, wordlessly pleading Kenny to save him.  </p><p>“Ky, something’s burning,” Kenny notified the chef, who immediately lost interest in Tweek and rushed over to the oven. </p><p>The two blond men shared a look before Tweek began to feel the curious eyes on him. He anxiously glanced around then back at Kenny.</p><p>“Guys, this is Tweek, by the way,” Kenny stood up from the kitchen counter and shamelessly clapped a hand around Tweek’s shoulder. </p><p>“H-hi,” he stuttered as Kenny’s fingers drew gentle circles over his shoulder. It always helped him calm down, and Kenny knew that. </p><p>“You look familiar,” said the tall, dark-skinned man. </p><p>“He’s from South Park too,” Kenny informed him with a smug face. He was obviously proud of himself for knowing something the others didn’t. </p><p>“I know who you are!” the brunette suddenly butt in, holding a half empty beer can in his hand. “You are Tweek Tweak! You work in that creepy coffee shop!”</p><p>“Yeah,” Tweek nodded uncomfortably. “I do.”</p><p>“Cool! I’m Clyde,” the loud guy introduced himself, beaming at him with the brightest smile Tweek had ever seen. </p><p>The name immediately rang a bell for him, and he remembered Kenny talking about him on more than one occasion. They were kind of drinking buddies, and Tweek vaguely remembered his friend mentioning something about him being on the football team with Stan back in their high school years. </p><p>The previous man stepped closer to the two blonds and reached towards Tweek to shake his hand.  Kenny let go of him. “I’m Token Black. Nice to meet you, Tweek,” he gave Tweek a small but pleasant smile. </p><p><em> Black </em>. Tweek actually knew that name. The Black’s were the richest family in town and his father talked about them a lot for some kind of reason. Probably out of jealousy.</p><p>“I’m Jimmy,” the third person spoke up from the comfort of the couch, next to Cartman. “And that grumpy-looking guy over there is Craig,” he pointed to the last person in the room.</p><p>Tweek looked at the mentioned man and when their eyes met, his stomach lurched. <em> He was handsome </em>. Even more handsome than he first thought. He opened his mouth to greet him but was disrupted by Clyde.</p><p>“So, how come I never saw you at school?” Clyde frowned as he took a quick sip from his drink. “Or any other place?” </p><p>A faint blush creeped on Tweek’s cheeks as he glanced at Kenny then Token. “I was homeschooled,” he answered shyly.</p><p>“That explains it,” Token nodded.</p><p>“Kahl —” Cartman’s whiney voice broke the conversation. </p><p>“Not, now, Cartman!” Kyle grunted, swirling their dinner in a pan. </p><p>“Oh, boy, it sure smells good,” Butters whispered, earning a nod from Jimmy in concurrence. </p><p>Stan put his empty can down on the counter and walked over to Kyle, pushing him gently away with his hips so he could check the spaghetti. “A few more minutes,” he decided, after chewing on a piece. Then he opened the fridge and took out a container, tossing it into the microwave a second later. “Let’s set the table,” he said, looking at the remaining two useful people in his friend group, Tweek and Kenny. </p><p>Tweek felt relieved that he could finally occupy his mind with something other than his rising anxiety and his curiosity towards Craig. He grabbed some clean plates from the cupboard and brought them to the dining table. </p><p>Kenny took the cutlery out of the kitchen drawer to take to the table but was disrupted by Stan trying to reach for a glass on the top shelf. He was on his tiptoes, his right arm fully stretched over his head. “Need some help?” Kenny asked, eyes glued to the small portion of exposed skin where Stan’s shirt had moved up a bit. </p><p>“You’re an inch shorter than me,” Stan grumbled, annoyance fueled him as his finger nearly touched the glass. “Goddamnit, why are these stupid glasses so high up?!”</p><p>Tweek reached for a chair and was ready to help out his friend when, out of nowhere, Craig appeared next to Stan, towering above him. He easily took the glass off the top shelf and handed it to Stan. “Here,” he said rather blandly.</p><p>His voice was deep, a bit nasally and Tweek thought it was way too attractive. </p><p>“Thanks, Tucker,” Stan muttered, definitely not enjoying the other’s advantage over him. </p><p><em> Tucker. Craig Tucker </em>. The realization felt like standing under a waterfall. Cold, painful and suffocating. He knew that name! He heard dozens of stories of the notorious Craig Tucker who, according to Cartman and the others, was a real asshole. However, with his broad shoulders and lanky figure covered with a simple baggy white shirt, and his perfectly shaped nose and deep set eyes and prominent brow bone and bored expression, he didn’t look as intimidating as he always imagined him to be.</p><p>“While you’re here, could you grab some more too?” Stan asked him, earning a tired look from Craig, but he did as he was asked to. “Thanks,” Stan moved over to the microwave, giving Craig a wide berth.</p><p>Tweek’s eyes followed Craig’s every move while he turned away from the shelves with a few glasses in his hands and began to walk towards the table. He wanted to say something to him, even just a hi, but the embarrassment from before was still present, so he tore his gaze away and rushed back to the kitchen for some more plates. </p><p>He missed his chance to talk to Craig.</p><p>“Can I help too?” Token asked, standing up from the couch to join the kitchen group. </p><p>“Everyone should help,” Kyle snorted, burning a hole into Cartman’s face, but the other man just shrugged and continued showing something to Butters and Jimmy on his phone.</p><p>“Oh, sorry bro!” At least Clyde jumped up from his seat, even though the comment clearly wasn't meant for him.</p><p>The next few minutes passed quickly, without Tweek really having any more chance to try to speak to Craig. Every time he got close to him, someone interrupted one of them. When they finally sat down, he ended up trapped between Kenny and Jimmy and way too far from Craig. </p><p>Clyde’s brow raised in surprise once he saw Stan pouring the contents of the container over his pasta. “What’s that?”</p><p>“Creamy pesto,” was Stan's answer, earning a suspicious look from Clyde. </p><p>“Stan’s a pussy,” Cartman stated, noisily chewing on a piece of meat, locking eyes with Stan whose face twisted with pure distaste. </p><p>“Vegetarian,” Kenny corrected him.</p><p>“It’s the same thing.”</p><p>“No, it’s not, Fatass!” Kyle jumped into the conversation. He took any chance to argue with Cartman and it looked like they would never grow out of their annoying habit.</p><p>“But it’s still pretty gay,” Cartman added and this time Kyle stayed silent. </p><p>Tweek recognized this sign. It meant that Kyle actually agreed on something with his frenemy but would never say it out loud.</p><p>“There’s nothing wrong with being gay,” Butters whispered just loud enough for the others to hear him.</p><p>“No, of course not,” Cartman nodded. “Except if Kial-”</p><p>“Can we just eat in peace for at least five fucking minutes?!” Stan interjected, twisting his fork aggressively in his pasta.</p><p>Suddenly, Tweek heard Craig’s voice coming from the other side of the table. “I think you’re asking too much.”</p><p>“I know,” Stan agreed tiredly. </p><p>***</p><p>Dinner consisted of too much small talk and <em> catching up </em> . It mostly consisted of them sharing the degrees they were doing and how far along they were <em> into </em>their degrees. </p><p>He felt like he was at some awkward family gathering. Besides, he already knew what most of them were getting up to anyway, with their intense social media habits and his little sister being a friend of both Kyle and Kenny’s younger siblings. He did <em> ask </em>her what they were doing, out of pure curiosity, but he preferred hearing about it secondhand. That way, he didn’t have to give any type of reaction or response. His sister called him a gossip, but he really didn’t care.</p><p>The only time he gave his full attention was when the cute blonde — <em> Tweek, </em>apparently — spoke.</p><p>In fact, the blonde stole his attention throughout the whole dinner, which was pretty impressive considering he was up against Cartman’s smart ass comments, Stan’s excessively long stories, and Kyle’s incredibly loud mouth.</p><p>Now, as they sat in a semi circle on the couches with the fireplace lit up before them, the blond took his attention again.</p><p>He hadn’t tried to make direct conversation yet. He was more so the person who spoke when he was spoken to, but Tweek wasn’t making any effort to speak to him. He <em> wanted </em>to speak to him though.</p><p>So he supposed he would have to start the conversation, which was already difficult to do under normal circumstances, but even more so with idiot 1 (Clyde) and idiot 2 (Kenny) around. They reminded him of puppies, running around and around each other, barking loudly and wagging their tails excitedly. </p><p>This is why Craig preferred <em> cats </em>.</p><p>The alcohol made it easier, at least, both to tolerate the unexpected blast from the past and to gather courage to talk to Tweek.</p><p>He turned in his direction, eyeing him, curled up on the recliner. He opened his mouth to speak, and Tweek’s eyes flashed to him. As he was about to <em> engage, </em>he was cut off by the sound of a loud voice.</p><p>“How about we play a drinking game?!” Kyle suggested, walking into the semi circle alongside Stan. “I brought cards.”</p><p>“Drinking game?” Clyde perked his head up from the floor where he sat, “I <em> love </em>drinking games.”</p><p>“I’ll only play if it’s strip poker,” Kenny smirked. </p><p>“Dude, but there aren’t any girls here,” was Clyde’s response.</p><p>Craig chuckled to himself, shaking his head. Kenny replied with, “and your <em> point?” </em></p><p>Luckily, before Clyde could have a sexual identity crisis, Tweek cut in. “No way! I’m not playing strip poker.”</p><p>“Why not, Tweek? We already saw you in just a towel.” Kenny winked at him.</p><p>Tweek blushed and turned away, shaking his head with a frown. “Kenny! Shut up.”</p><p>“We are not playing <em> strip poker,” </em> Kyle said. “I’m not willing to see Cartman naked for that.”</p><p>“Aye!” Cartman called from his seat at the dining room table, sitting by Butters, Token, and Jimmy. “As if anyone wants to see a ginger Jew’s body.”</p><p>“Hey, I would personally <em> love </em>to see Kyle’s cute ass,” Kenny raised one hand up and the other to the base of his neck.</p><p>Kyle rolled his eyes, used to Kenny’s excessive and meaningless flirting.</p><p>Craig thought that if he snuck off to his room <em> right now </em>, maybe no one would notice.</p><p>“I don’t want to see any of your bodies, all right?” Stan proclaimed, waving them all off.</p><p>“Not even mine? I’m offended,” Kenny pouted, staring up at Stan from the carpet alongside Clyde.</p><p>Stan blushed, feeling flustered all of a sudden. He swallowed, and ignored Kenny, addressing the room again. “Kyle and I were thinking something more simple.” </p><p>Simple apparently meant a game called <em> Waterfall </em> . While the pair of super best friends claimed it was simple, there was a different meaning to each card in the deck that was pulled. Craig was grateful that the game at least appeared to be <em> normal. </em>In high school, Craig once heard a rumor that Stan, Kenny, Kyle and Cartman drunk sledded off Butter’s roof on one particular snow day.</p><p>At least with the game in motion, he was pushed down farther along the couch by Cartman and Butters, placing him adjacent to the blonde. </p><p>While the card game did not give him much leeway to actually speak to Tweek, they did however share an interaction during one of the mini-games they played with in the card game, which involved pretending to drive a car and saying, <em> skrrt </em> or <em> vroom, </em>depending on the direction you were steering. Since Tweek was the one next to him, they locked eyes whenever they had to do this portion of the game. Craig felt bad when he got him out, but he couldn’t deny that the pout that formed on the blonde’s face thereafter was one of the cutest things he’d ever seen.</p><p>As the card game went on, and they became <em> drunker, </em>they decided to slow down. Instead Kyle, the ever prepared, brought out Cards Against Humanity.</p><p>As they slid into that game, there was, admittedly, a lot more opportunity to make conversation as everyone tried to pick the right cards. <em> Especially, </em>since Clyde was the most indecisive person on the planet and took eighteen years to pick something.</p><p>But unfortunately, Clyde’s indecision was not the only thing that slowed him down. It was also his inattentive and hyper nature, engaging in all bits of conversation he could cling onto, which included shooting a line of questions to Tweek about being home schooled and the coffee business.</p><p>“So you actually <em> like </em> coffee?” The brunette asked.</p><p>“Ah, yeah, it’s my favorite drink, actually,” Tweek responded, making Craig drag a hand across his face. </p><p>He couldn't take his best friend anymore. “Of course he likes coffee. His parents <em> own </em> a coffee shop.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Tweek said. Craig faced him. It was the first time they were <em> really </em>conversing. “I’ve been drinking it since I was little.”</p><p>Before Craig could reply to the absurdity of <em> that </em> comment, Kenny jumped in with, “ya know, I hear coffee intensifies your orgasm.”</p><p>“Can you two just put down your fucking cards?” Kyle demands, shifting his eyes between Kenny and Clyde.</p><p>Craig sighed. For some odd reason, he predicted he would never get a chance to talk to Tweek — not while surrounded by a bunch of extroverts.</p><p>As the night dragged on, his former prediction prevailed to be true. Every time he tried to talk to Tweek, or <em> thought </em>about talking to him, someone else cut in — usually, Clyde or Kenny.</p><p>There was one point where their eyes met, Tweek’s mouth opened, about to say something, when Kenny tugged on his arm and began to ask him about some song he showed him last week.</p><p>It pissed him off, and he wanted to kick Kenny in the balls for it. He refrained himself though, and eventually just snuck away to his room, feeling entirely drained from the social interactions he endured tonight. As he laid in bed, he thought about Tweek; mesmerized by his gap-tooth smile and wavy blonde hair. </p><p>Clyde had once accused him of having a thing for blondes, and while at the time he denied this — with his track record — he supposed he was right. </p><p>But Tweek was <em> cute </em>and he was sure he would think so, no matter what his hair color.</p><p>*******</p><p>Tweek lay in bed, wide awake. He was never good at falling asleep in new places, and this place wasn’t an exception either. </p><p>The room was dark and a bit cold. The moonlight barely seeped through the slightly open window. Kenny loved sleeping with an open window. As a kid, Tweek hated it. He constantly panicked over it, telling Kenny that someone could easily get inside their homes and abduct them this way, but Kenny didn’t care. He always acted like he never feared anything, and so as the years passed by, Tweek got used to the open window. </p><p>A pang of sadness settled in his heart as he watched Kenny's bare chest rising and falling in a peaceful manner. Kenny was skinny, <em> really skinny </em>. Usually he hid his body under a pile of baggy clothes, but he felt comfortable enough around Tweek to let him see his fragile frame. His skin was pale and littered with small bruises, cuts and slowly healing scars. He barely had any fat and his ribcage was painfully visible with how it strained against his thin skin. He was always on the skinny side with his unhealthy addictions and poor diet, but after high school ended, he started to take on even more shifts at work so he could support his sister. That was the moment when Kenny went from skinny to nearly skin and bone. Sometimes Tweek felt like his best friend was trying to survive purely on weed and cheap energy drinks. So, after he and Kenny moved in together at the beginning of their first year in college, he began to make enough food for the both of them. Honestly, Tweek had never seen anyone appreciate a ham and cheese sandwich more than Kenny and finally he started to put on some weight. </p><p>Tweek took one more glance at Kenny before rolling out from the bed to silently leave the slumbering man alone.</p><p>He grabbed his Ipad on his way, exitingthe room and quietly heading downstairs. The living area was dark and empty too; everyone was already in their rooms, caught up in their dreams. Except of course Tweek. </p><p>A feeling of comfort rushed through his veins as he turned on the kettle and listened to the water boil while he poured some instant coffee into a mug. The moment he sat down with the steaming coffee warming his usually cold hands and the smell filling his nostrils, he relaxed. He put his glasses on, opened the Netflix app on his device and scrolled through his watch list until he found something he liked. It took him longer than he hoped, but making choices was hard for him after all. He curled up on the edge of the couch, pushing his back into the soft cushion, eyes glued to the Ipad resting in his lap with airpods in his ears. </p><p>Soft blue light illuminated the room as soon as the show started and Tweek let his mind ease away from reality as he quietly sipped his coffee. </p><p>Thanks to his headphones, he couldn’t hear the squeaking sound of an opening door. And being too focused on the show, somehow he missed the faint light coming from a phone screen while a pair of feet soundlessly snuck into the bathroom. </p><p>A minute later, he nearly had a heart attack when a large shadow lurked out from the darkness and towered above him. “What the— ?!” he yelped, legs twitching in fear. The Ipad fell to the ground, but somehow he still managed not to spill out even a drop of coffee.</p><p>He looked up with wide eyes and heart racing when a familiar face welcomed him. “Cr- Craig?” </p><p>Craig’s lips moved but Tweek could not hear the words, instead only hearing the voices from the sitcom he was watching. He suddenly realized he still had his AirPods in. He wanted to slap himself, embarrassed by his own cluelessness.</p><p>He took out his AirPods and held them in his hand. “Ah, sorry,” he said, eyeing the tall man. “I couldn’t hear you, I had my AirPods in.”</p><p>The other male held up a hand and shook it, “no, no,” Craig said, “I’m the one who’s sorry — I was apolgoising for scaring you.”</p><p>Tweek’s eyes went wide as his mouth formed into an “O” shape. He began to laugh nervously, “oh, um, don’t worry about it. I get scared easily, it’s my fault.”</p><p>The other furrowed his brows, glancing around the dark corridor. “Well, I think anyone would get scared whilst sitting in the dark by themselves,”</p><p>“Well, I just didn’t want to wake anyone,”</p><p>Craig smiled at the consideration, although found it to be foolish. People could close their doors to block out any light. “I don’t think you have to worry about that, dude.”</p><p>Tweek nodded, biting on his lip as his eyes traveled back down to his coffee and iPad. “I don’t mind, really… There is some light coming from the window from the moon and stars… so, it’s sort of peaceful? And probably very weird sounding to you…”</p><p>Craig chuckled. “No, not weird at all…” Craig actually very much <em> prefered </em>the glow of moonlight as opposed to bright, fluorescent lights. “It’s peaceful…. like you said.” He glanced around the empty room, which was full of chaos only hours ago. “It’s nice… and a breath of fresh air compared to earlier.”</p><p>Tweek clicked his eyes up again, and the corner of his lips rose. “Things can get pretty hectic with those guys, for sure.”</p><p>Craig laughed it off, even though he could probably spend a whole night talking about just how <em> hectic </em>that group of people could be. “Yeah, it’s why I decided to cut the night short.”</p><p>Tweek recalled Craig slipping away before the rest. Tweek would have too but he didn’t want them to think he was lame. “I assumed you went to bed.”</p><p>Craig shrugged. “I think I fell asleep for a little bit, but Clyde doesn’t know how to be quiet, and woke me up. I haven’t been able to sleep since.”</p><p>Tweek nodded. “Yeah, I haven’t been able to sleep either. It’s why I came out here,” he admitted. He bit his lip, eyed the iPad and then Craig. “If you want, you can join me? I’m watching Malcolm in the Middle, but if you’re not fine with that, then we can pick something else or - I mean, you don’t have to watch with me at all, like, don’t feel pressured.”</p><p>Craig chuckled again, finding the nervousness adorable. It also made him feel better about his own awkwardness. “I like Malcolm in the Middle,” he took a seat beside the blonde. “It was one of my favorites when I was growing up.”</p><p>The blonde smiled at him and nodded. “Me too,” Tweek agreed, and handed over an AirPod to the man beside him. Craig took it, the ends of their fingers nearly touching.</p><p>Craig’s eyes fell to the coffee cup in Tweek’s lap and he smiled, lifting his gaze to the man. “You’re drinking coffee? That can’t be helpful for you to sleep.”</p><p>“It calms me,” Tweek brought the warm coffee cup closely to his chest. “I’m not really drinking it with sleep in mind.”</p><p>Craig could argue that maybe he should drink something a little more sleep inducing at this time of night, but he figured it is not his place. “You must really like the stuff, huh?”</p><p>“What’s not to like about it?”</p><p>Craig chuckled again, skirting his eyes away. “Touché,” he declares with a nod.</p><p>“Do you want me to restart the episode?” Tweek asked, catching his gaze again.</p><p>“Nah, you can just play where you left off. You’re already been nice enough letting me watch it with you.”</p><p>Tweek smiled at him, biting his lip. He felt his cheeks warm up. He nodded and placed the AirPod back in his right ear, Craig mirroring him. They watched the sitcom together, laughing and reminiscing occasionally in nostalgia.</p><p>About half-way through the first episode, Craig managed to muster the courage to ask, “so… you were homeschooled, huh?”</p><p>Tweek turned an eye to him and nodded in confirmation. </p><p>“How did you like that?”</p><p>Tweek shrugged, humming in thought. “With how many school shootings there are in the United States, it definitely felt safer,”</p><p>Craig continued to watch him, hearing the unvoiced <em> but </em>in his sentence. After Tweek did not continue, he prompted him with, “but?”</p><p>“But I kind of feel like … I don’t know, sometimes I feel like I missed out a little. I feel like I spent most of my life confined to the walls of my parents coffee shop.”</p><p>Craig frowned. That sounded absolutely horrific. He could not imagine having to spend so much time with his parents, or having to work throughout his whole childhood. He spent most of his time watching television or playing video games.</p><p>“Yeah… that seems like it would suck after awhile,”</p><p>Tweek nodded, frowning at the screen. “I know it’s important to my family, so I try to see it from their perspective, but I just wish I had been able to go to, like, a <em> football </em>game or something. At least once.”</p><p>Craig frowned again. Not that he even liked football, in the slightest, but at least he had the chance to go. </p><p>He inhaled. “well, if it makes you feel any better… our team really sucked and lost most of their games.”</p><p>Tweek snorted, turning an eye to him again. “But that’s not the point though. It’s just… ya know… <em> being there </em>,” Tweek shrugged. “Getting the full experience.”</p><p>Craig nodded, darting his eyes away to the screen. He had no idea what to say. He was not good at deep, emotional talks, especially with virtual strangers. He sucked in a breath, “yeah… that makes sense.”</p><p>“Sorry, I’m probably being depressing,” Tweek huffed.</p><p>“No, no… not at all,” Craig shook his head, meeting the other’s eyes. “I just never really thought about it that way. It would piss me off too,”</p><p>Tweek puffed out a few chuckles. “It wasn’t all bad. Besides, from Kenny’s fucked up stories of high school, I feel like I would have had panic attacks daily.”</p><p>Craig chuckled and nodded. “It was pretty fucked up, but honestly, I blame Kenny’s group of friends for a lot of that. They have a niche for getting into fucked up situations.”</p><p>Tweek nodded with a chuckle too. “That is true, but Kenny is the best friend I’ve ever had, and the rest of ‘em kind of come along with it. I like them though. They’re all my friends,” Tweek said, “...except Cartman.”</p><p>Craig laughed, “I don’t think anyone is truly friends with Cartman. He sort of just leeches, and doesn’t let go. I’m just happy he didn’t choose my friend group to latch onto.”</p><p>Tweek laughed again, noting in his head that he was laughing a lot with Craig. “Kyle handles him pretty well, but he can still be a major dick.”</p><p>“No need to say that twice.”</p><p>The two glanced at each other with a smirk, continuing their idle small talk about their childhood in South Park and their separate and different experiences that went along with it, including stories of Cartman pissing them off.</p><p>After a couple of episodes, Craig began to doze off. He tried his best to stay awake, enjoying the company of his companion, but he could not stop nodding off. </p><p>Eventually Tweek came to notice and laughed. “You’re gonna fall asleep on me, Craig.”</p><p>Craig hummed, catching the gaze of the man beside him; his features lit up by the glow of the moon and stars. He was so, so cute, and he really wished he could stay up. “I guess I should have had some of that coffee.”</p><p>Tweek laughed. “while coffee is awesome, so is sleep.” He nudged the other man with his elbow. </p><p>“Yeah, you’re right,” Craig nodded with a sigh. “Sleep is pretty nice.”</p><p>Tweek turned off his Ipad, and accepted the AirPod back from Craig. Taking out his own, he placed them both back in their case.</p><p>He felt eyes on him as he did so. He looked up, locking eyes with Craig’s. </p><p>“Well, thanks for letting me watch with you,” Craig said.</p><p>Tweek nodded. “Yeah… it was nice watching with someone.”</p><p>Craig hummed and nodded as well before he stood up. He sucked in a breath, “well, if I don’t get to my room quickly, I think I may just pass out here, so…”</p><p>“Goodnight, Craig,” Tweek said, attempting to hold back his smile.</p><p>“Goodnight, Tweek.”</p><p>Craig stood a moment longer gazing at Tweek, before he made his way back to his room down the hall. He was happy that his back was facing Tweek because he was sure he would not be able to hold back the grin that took over his face. </p><p>For once in his life, he was grateful for Clyde’s inability to be quiet.</p><p> ****</p><p>A small smile was glued to Tweek’s lips as he watched Craig disappear behind the door. His fingers clenched around his Ipad as he hugged it tighter. His heart was pounding heavily, he feared it would rip through his chest. </p><p>He turned around and went upstairs, but when he got there, he noticed a faint light creeping out from the small gap between the door and the floor. </p><p>Kenny was awake.</p><p>Tweek opened the door slowly and peaked inside. “Hey,” he whispered when his eyes met with Kenny’s sleepy ones.</p><p>“Hey babe,” Kenny smiled, sitting on the bed with crossed legs, rolling a joint. </p><p>Tweek stepped inside the room, pushing the door to close it, but didn’t really close it.  “How long have you been awake?” A hint of redness tinted his cheeks as he thought back to just how loud he and Craig were being, and if they were the ones who accidentally woke Kenny up.</p><p>“Not long,” Kenny hummed, before licking the edge of the cigarette paper and gently pressing it down to seal his work. “But long enough to realize you weren’t next to me,” he lifted his eyes to Tweek. “You can’t sleep.” There wasn’t a hint of doubt in his voice<em> . </em> “So, I thought you might need a little help,” he said with a beam and shook the finished joint in his hand. </p><p><em> Kenny knew him too well. </em> </p><p>Tweek’s lips curled into a grateful smile as he watched the other crawling off the bed. </p><p>“Let’s go,” Kenny announced, walking towards the door. </p><p>Tweek grabbed his arm before Kenny had a chance to slip out from the room. “Shouldn't you put something warmer on?” he asked, eyeing the other’s bare chest. </p><p>“Nah, I have my coat downstairs. It will be enough.”</p><p>“You’ll catch a cold.”</p><p>“If I do, will you look after me?” Mischief glimmered in Kenny’s eyes</p><p>“Fat chance,” Tweek snorted, but he couldn’t fight back the little smile blooming on his lips. “But I will banish you from our bed.”</p><p>Kenny let out a small chuckle before opening the door. “I don’t think you could be that heartless.”</p><p>Tweek shrugged and followed him. Kenny was right; he wouldn't. But there was no way he would admit it. </p><p>They put their shoes and coats on and silently stepped outside. The air was frigid, and just after a few breaths, it felt like their throats and lungs turned into ice. </p><p>“We should hurry,” Tweek suggested with chattering teeth, looking at Kenny as he lit the joint up and took a deep and long drag. </p><p>“But why?” Kenny puffed out. The smoke filled the air between the two of them. “Just look around Tweek. Isn’t it beautiful?” </p><p>Tweek did as he was asked. “It’s cold, dark and creepy,” he said after his eyes returned from the pitch black forest to Kenny. “Anyone could watch us behind the trees right now, and we would have no idea about it until it’s too late.”</p><p>A joyful laugh bubbled up from Kenny. “God, Tweek, I love your unbreakable optimism,”  </p><p>“Fuck you,” Tweek muttered and snatched the joint out of Kenny’s hand. The first drag immediately calmed him down, even though he hadn’t really felt it’s effect just yet. He kicked the pure white snow in front of him, before lifting his foot up and gently placing it down again on an untouched spot. When he carefully lifted his leg up again, a perfect outline of his shoe print appeared in the snow. His face cracked into a proud grin. </p><p>However, it quickly disappeared when a sudden orange colored object flew towards his face.</p><p>“Catch it!” Kenny’s voice followed behind it.</p><p>“What the fuck?!” Tweek asked angrily before his eyes went wide as he watched Kenny lie down in the snow with only his boxers on. “Dude, this way you’re really gonna catch a cold! Or worse; freeze to death.”</p><p>“I’m not afraid of Death,” Kenny chuckled, feeling the snow cooling his warm skin down. “He can suck my cock.” His laughter felt a bit more forced than before. “Tweek, I think I just saw a shooting start!” He pointed at the sky above them. </p><p>“Did ya?” Tweek looked up and felt his breath be taken away. He didn’t see a shooting star, but he saw millions of twinkling ones filling the heavens instead. It was beyond beautiful. The night sky was pretty in South Park too, but it was nothing compared to this one, where there was no light pollution at all. “Beautiful,” he breathed out softly.</p><p>Kenny lifted his hand up, reaching towards Tweek, silently asking him to hand over their shared happiness. “Thanks,” he said once Tweek handed over the joint. He took a deep drag as he continued gazing at the stars. “Have I ever told you that when I was small, I was determined to catch a shooting star?”</p><p>Tweek raised an eyebrow curiously as he crouched down next to Kenny. “No. Why?”</p><p>“You know what people say about making a wish when you see a shooting star?” Kenny began, and even though it wasn’t really a question Tweek, nodded anyway. “Well I thought if I could catch one instead, it will most certainly fulfill my wish. So, I was watching the sky every night, hoping that a star would eventually fall from it and land somewhere in South Park.” He chuckled from the memory, and took another drag from his joint. “And one day, a shooting star fell straight into the forest behind my house. I couldn’t believe my luck! I dashed outside and ran straight into the forest.”</p><p>“Have you found it?!” Tweek interjected suddenly, excitement painted all over his face, completely forgetting about reality.</p><p>Kenny burst into peals of laughter. Teardrops gathered at the corners of his eyes. “Tweek, you are really high.” He couldn’t stop laughing as an embarrassed blush spread across Tweek’s cheeks. “Sorry, babe,” he continued and handed over the joint to the other. “But I never found it. I got lost! And walked aimlessly in the forest for nearly a whole day before I found my way back home.” He glanced at Tweek. “My parents hadn’t even noticed that I was gone.”</p><p>“Assholes,” Tweek said. “...What happened after?”</p><p>“I stopped looking for a star to magically make my wishes come true. Instead I decided to work for it and make it happen on my own.”</p><p>The softest, most tender smile settled on Tweek’s lips as he looked at Kenny. Then he gazed up at the bright, sparkling stars. </p><p><em> A wish </em>. </p><p>Tweek thought about what he would wish for, if he would see a shooting star at that moment. But the only thing he could think of in that moment was <em> Craig </em>. The sound of his laughter and the softness of his eyes filled his mind. He didn’t realize when he started smiling again. </p><p>“By the way, who were you hanging out with before you came upstairs?” </p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I heard you speaking with someone, but it was too quiet for me to figure out who it was.”</p><p>“Oh... It was Craig!” Tweek blurted out. “We- we were watching Malcolm.” Tweek knew he was blushing again. </p><p>“Craig, huh?” The way Kenny looked back at him, that <em> all knowing look, </em> was enough to cause the blush to deepen on Tweek’s cheeks. “You have a weird taste, babe, but I get it. There’s just something about dark-haired men.” He chuckled before sitting up to lean closer to Tweek’s ear. “But it’s your lucky day my friend.” He paused and smiled again. “Craig is gay,” he whispered.</p><p>A shiver ran through Tweek’s spine. Maybe Kenny was his shooting star. </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>